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Lessons From Life: Clovis Teachers Visit City Hall to Glean Ideas for Classroom Use.

Posted on: Wednesday, 21 June 2006, 09:00 CDT

By Marc Benjamin, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Jun. 21--A group of Clovis Unified School District teachers used Clovis City Hall last week as a classroom to find ways to meld local government into their lesson plans.

It was the third time in the past year the city and school district have done the program, in which 30 teachers participated.

The program is an extension of the Clovis Citizens Academy, started three years ago by Council Member Lynne Ashbeck when she served as mayor to raise public awareness of Clovis city programs.

Students must write persuasive essays during fifth grade, and learning about the city may give them the tools to express feelings about a park or a city need that adults don't recognize, she said.

"We are a better community when all the generations have a sense of place," Ashbeck said.

"In Clovis, there are still people around who have a sense of that history."

Teachers toured the police, fire and planning departments, and received a snapshot into Clovis history at the Clovis Historical Museum. They also visited the city's corporation yard, where they saw city vehicles repaired and the way city parks, sewer, water and refuse departments function.

They also received a lesson in economic development and learned how new businesses bring more jobs and tax revenue to the city.

While touring the corporation yard, teachers remarked about how few employees cover the city inspecting sewer pipes or painting road striping.

"I'm impressed with how much they do with the number of people they have," said Mike Rumley, a government teacher who serves as a guide on the teachers' tours.

But the two-day visit also was part work -- to have teachers devise ideas for their classes.

"The real goal was to have teachers create lesson plans that integrate with the lessons they already teach," said Rob Darrow, a library media teacher who also serves as a guide for the teachers' groups. "If they teach history or science, they can concentrate on those aspects."

Previous tours by teachers have generated lesson plans using the museum for local history by studying the city's government as part of a larger government course and in math classes by using graphing coordinates for maps.

Joaquin Partida, a third-grade teacher at Clovis Elementary School, said the tour was his first opportunity to learn the inner workings of the city and Clovis history.

"One of our standards is to teach our kids about Fresno County, but there really wasn't anything available on Clovis," he said.

"I think the kids can write a persuasive piece about coming to Clovis."

Larry Dunn, who teaches sixth grade at Sierra Vista Elementary near downtown Clovis, said most of his students and their families rarely go downtown.

"I think it would be a good idea to take them on a tour of the museum," he said.

"Maybe also a tour of downtown Clovis and some of the buildings that have been there for a hundred years, because I bet a lot of kids have never been to downtown Clovis."

Recycling will be the message when Sara Barlow writes the lesson plan for her learning-disabled students at Jefferson Elementary.

"With recycling, we can put math and language arts into different real-world experiences," said Barlow, who said her students can do several of the jobs teachers observed in their visit.

"Most of my kids don't realize what different jobs are out there," Barlow said. "Some of the jobs I saw, my kids could be really good at."

By watching everyday city functions, teachers are finding relevant studies for students, something adults typically underestimate in the minds of children, said Ginny Boris, associate superintendent of curriculum for Clovis Unified School District.

"This program helps put local government back into the discussion with young people," she said.

"Local government affects our lives most, and it's something most people know the least about."

It's also an opportunity to hook parents into what their children are learning.

"We hope the kids will talk to mom and dad and reinvigorate their interest," Boris said.

The reporter can be reached at mbenjamin@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6166.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Fresno Bee

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